How's That New Year's Resolution Going?

There’s another cliff looming, and it’s not in Congress. Today, February 7th, is the dreaded Fitness Cliff. At least according to Gold’s Gym: They mined through three years of gym member check-ins at locations across America, and found that 38 days after the ball drops is when people start to give up on their New Year’s resolutions.

Why 38 days? “It’s an effort disparity,” says Belisa Vranich, PsyD, a clinical psychologist and author. We tend to think we’ll need a certain amount of effort to reach our workout goals, when in reality, it takes quite a bit more. “People love makeovers,” Vranich notes. “They like the before, they like the after—they don’t really want to see what happens in between.”

Let’s face it: New Year’s resolutions are tough to keep. Habits are hard to break, whether you’re trying to cut sugar out of your diet or meditate before work every day. So in a bid to keep everyone off the Cliff, we asked Vranich for a few suggestions to stay on track this year:

Make exercise work for you. “It’s all about finding the enjoyment in it. Find an exercise that meshes with your personality,” Vranich advises. Don’t assume that you need to become a long distance runner to get fit. If you can’t stand running, then figure out what you do enjoy. “Really look at your personality, and be realistic about what goes along with it,” she notes.

It’s all about problem solving. Where diet and exercise are concerned, don’t just assume that you’ll fall into new patterns without encountering roadblocks. “How come in every other portion of your life, you solve problems and map it out?” Vranich says of realms like relationship disputes or careers. “But when it comes to dieting and nutrition, you immediately throw in the towel when it doesn’t work?”

Watch your mouth. Certain words can trigger a resolution lapse, Vranich says. “I think people wouldn’t drop off if they attempted not to use these words, or at least not think them.” The term “deserve” is one prime example: “You start saying, ‘I deserve to go to happy hour and eat fried Snickers and drink cosmos’,” she notes. If you find yourself reinforcing good behavior with indulgences—too many glasses of wine, too few weekly workouts—because you “deserve them” catch yourself before you derail.

Fuel yourself. “The worst food decisions happen when you’re starving,” Vranich says. She suggests carrying nutritious snacks to prevent the kinds of poor nutritional choices that can accompany growling hunger. And before you nosh, consider what you’re about to eat: “People…don’t think about whether a food is going to make them sleepy, really full, or crave something else,” she says. “Really think about what you’re eating [and] fuel your body in a loving way.”